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FORCE PROCEDURES

Procedure Reference Number: 01/08 Procedure Author: Diane Hall Procedure Review Date: August 2010 At the time of ratifying this procedure, the author is satisfied that this document complied with relevant legislation and Force requirements. Sign and date D Hall, 29th November 2007 (Author(s))

Recruitment & Selection (Police Staff)

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Procedure Index ELECTRONIC NAVIGATION: - move the cursor over the page number in the index or blue underlined text until a hand appears. Click the left mouse button once and it will jump to the specified part of the document. 1. Procedure Aim ....................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Principles and Scope of the Procedure .............................................................. 3 1.2 Aim of the Procedure ............................................................................................ 3 2. Responsibilities ..................................................................................................... 3 3. Guidance ................................................................................................................ 4 3.1 Establish the Business Need ............................................................................... 4 3.2 Vacancy Analysis .................................................................................................. 4 3.3 Advertise the Post ................................................................................................. 4 3.4 Short Listing .......................................................................................................... 6 3.5 Assessment Processes ........................................................................................ 8 3.6 Interview Process .................................................................................................. 8 3.7 Identification Checks And Documentation ......................................................... 9 3.8 Interview Panels .................................................................................................. 10 3.9 Interview Questions ............................................................................................ 11 3.10 Interview Scoring ................................................................................................ 12 3.11 Post Interview Process for All Vacancies ......................................................... 13 3.12 Post Interview Process for Internally Only Advertised Vacancies ................. 13 3.13 Post Interview for Externally Advertised Vacancies ........................................ 13 4. Re-employment of Police Officers..15 5. Appeals ................................................................................................................ 15 6. Review .................................................................................................................. 16

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1. Procedure Aim

1.1 Principles and Scope of the Procedure

1.1.1 This procedure applies to the recruitment of police staff and is linked to the Resourcing objective within the forces Human Resources Strategy, namely To recruit, promote, retain and deploy the right people in the right jobs at the right time, ensuring all legal, ethical, future planning and efficiency considerations are addressed. It also reflects domestic and European legislation, good practice and the organisational needs of the Constabulary.

1.2 Aim of the Procedure

1.2.1 The aim of this procedure is to enable managers to recruit and retain quality staff at all levels, facilitating recruitment and selection decisions to be made using objective and defensible techniques, ensuring that the principles of Equality and Diversity are adhered to and that all appropriate legislation is reflected.

1.2.2 In particular the procedure recognises the requirement for the Constabulary to

recruit a workforce that is representative of the community it serves and to ensure that all associated policies and procedures positively work towards such an aim. It is expected that all managers and staff who undertake recruitment and selection practices positively implement the procedure whilst ensuring that on every occasion the best candidate for the job is appointed.

1.2.3 The procedure is also written with an understanding of the requirement for

recruitment and selection to be undertaken efficiently and effectively, delivering Best Value in terms of the people who are appointed and the processes which lead to their appointment. The selection and appointment of staff is a long-term investment and the associated policies and procedures should be viewed in that light.

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2. Responsibilities 2.1 The Resourcing Unit will ensure that:

All vacancies are advertised in a fair and effective manner,

Requests for applications forms and information are issued promptly,

Short listing and interview files are prepared and sent on a timely basis,

Security checking, references and medicals are pursued and managed in a timely, professional and confidential manner,

All customer information requests are dealt with in a quality focused manner,

All applicants from an under represented group are offered the support services of the Representative Work Force team.

2.2 Individuals should:

Ensure they only apply for vacancies for which they are entitled to apply for and hold the necessary qualifications and experience,

Submit application forms that are correctly completed with all the necessary information provided,

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Provide early notification if they cannot attend for an interview or wish to withdraw their application at any stage,

Advise of any changes in circumstances that may affect their application. 2.3 Line Managers have a responsibility to:

Effectively review vacancies as they arise and ensure the timely placement of advertisements,

Undertake all short listing activities and interviews in a professional and ethical manner ensuring that all candidates are treated according to their legislative needs,

Provide constructive feedback to candidates when requested to do so following interview panels,

Ensure that all recruitment paperwork is completed thoroughly and accurately.

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3. Guidance

3.1 Establish the Business Need

3.1.1 The establishment of the business need is fundamental to the whole process. A vacancy is an opportunity to look at the needs of the service and redefine a post so that business needs can be met, more effectively. If there is no budget, or no longer a need for a post, then there is no need to go any further.

3.2 Vacancy Analysis

3.2.1 If recruitment is the most appropriate option, the first step MUST be to review the

post role profile for accuracy and currency with respect to the: Scope of the role Experience and qualifications required to undertake the role Activity and Behaviour competency areas

3.2.2 If any aspects of the role profile require amendment this must be done in

consultation with the Workforce Planning Manager, Human Resources Services, to sanction any changes and advise whether the post will need to be re-evaluated.

3.2.3 New roles cannot be recruited into until the grading and role profile has been

established through evaluation or benchmarking using the job scheme evaluation.

3.3 Advertise the Post

3.3.1 Cheshire Constabulary is committed to ensure that all vacancies are openly advertised except for those occasions where the force has a requirement to redeploy staff whose posts have become surplus or who are otherwise at risk of redundancy or require medical redeployment.

3.3.2 A vacancy for the purposes of this procedure is defined as any permanent

appointment or temporary posting of six months or longer duration.

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3.3.3 For vacancies of less than six months the post can either be formally advertised and a temporary appointment made OR it can be filled within the Area / Department locally using either: Temporary acting up opportunities Use of additional hours or overtime Agency staff provision

3.3.4 All vacancies (other than less than six months) MUST be advertised through the

Resourcing Unit who will as a minimum advertise all posts on the forces intranet and / or internet sites.

However, it is recognised that broader methods of advertising, through newspapers, the Internet, job centres, etc. have benefits in attracting a wider range of quality applicants from the community and will be used where appropriate to increase the applicant pool and increase numbers of applications received.

3.3.5 To increase the career development opportunities provided in the force for police

staff ALL vacancies between Sca